Board of Directors
The Board of Directors for Dr Park Ave contains three renowned physicians, and four successful business executives. All have agreed to serve on the Board. Their major responsibilities will include: ensuring the professional operation of all Dr Park Ave offices; increasing the company knowledge and skills base; and preparing Dr Park Ave for a successful IPO. Here are the Board members:
Dr. Paul Fondacaro, co-founder of the Company, is President and Director. Dr. Fondacaro earned his BS in Biochemistry magna cum laude from Manhattan College in Riverdale, NY; and his MD from New York University School of Medicine, in 1981. He completed his surgical residency and chief residency at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY in 1986. He started his surgical career in July 1986 as Instructor in Surgery at SUNY Downstate and Attending Surgeon at Long Island College Hospital. The following year he moved to Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC to become Assistant Director of Surgery where he was later named Assistant Professor of Surgery at N.Y. Medical College. After a medical school affiliation change, he later became Assistant Professor of Surgery at Cornell Medical College. In 1992 he entered private practice and continued to practice and teach and Lenox Hill Hospital. The scope of his surgical practice included breast disease, malignancies, bariatric surgery, hernia, GI diseases, and endocrine. In 2004, he and his colleague John Tomasula MD began Park Avenue Medical & Surgical Associates. It addressed various venous disorders both medical and cosmetic. As the practice grew, and other procedures were added, it became mostly cosmetic. Today, the practice has state of the art lasers and technologies that address most cosmetic concerns. Dr. Fondacaro has been chosen as a faculty member of the National Society of Cosmetic Physicians.
Dr. John Tomasula is co-founder, and Director of the Company. Dr. Tomasula earned his BA in Biology from New York University; and his MD from New York School of Medicine in 1981. He completed his surgical residency at State University of New York in Brooklyn NY in 1986. He completed his Fellow in Surgical Transplantation at State University of New York in June 1987. From 1987 to 1989, he was Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, at State University of New York. From 1989 to 1998, he was Assistant Professor of Surgery, at New York Medical College; and from 1998 to present he has been Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. From 1998 to 2002, he was Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. From 2002 to present he has served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. In 2004, he and his colleague, Paul Fondacaro, MD, began Park Avenue Medical & Surgical Associates. It addressed both medical and cosmetic disorders. As the practice grew and other procedures were added, it became mostly cosmetic. Today, the practice has state-of-the-art lasers and technologies that address most cosmetic concerns.
Thomas Zanardi is Chief Financial Officer and Director of the Company. Mr. Zanardi earned his MBA in Corporate Finance from Pace University in 1989. He has served in the financial industry at various capacities for the last 27 years. Mr. Zanardi held senior level positions with NYC’s premier investment banking, and money center, banks including: Merrill Lynch; Salomon Brothers; JP Morgan Chase Bank; Washington Mutual; Greenpoint Bank; and Mega Mortgage Services in New Jersey. He participated in 13 merger and acquisitions during his career, managing the: product; process; operation; and sales coordinations.
John Caruso is a Director of the Company. Mr. Caruso has more than 29 years of finance and management experience including eleven years in public accounting. Mr. Caruso served as CFO and COO for domestic and international firms, both public and private, engaged in the real estate, construction and software industries. Currently, he is responsible for finance and accounting activities including investor reporting, financial analysis, property and portfolio level accounting and cash flow management for investments aggregating almost $1 billion in gross assets. He holds a B.S. in accounting from Brooklyn College and is a CPA in New York State.
Dr. Ann Marie Schmidt is a Director of the Company. Dr. Schmidt earned her BA in Biology and History summa cum laude from NYUs Washington Square College and her M.D. degree with honors from NYU School of Medicine. She remained at NYU to complete her medical residency and chief residency, as well as fellowship in hematology and medical oncology, then moved to Columbia University, joining the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics. From 2003 – July 2010, she was Chief of the Division of Surgical Science and the Gerald and Janet Carrus Professor of Surgical Science. Dr. Schmidt’s basic and translational research has focused on the contribution of “RAGE” (receptor for advanced glycation end-products), a cell-surface receptor that exacerbates inflammation and damage when activated, to heart disease-related vascular injury, particularly in Type 1 Diabetes and its complications. She has studied RAGE and its relationship to inflammatory and immune disorders, peripheral nerve injury and regeneration, neurodegenerative diseases, and tumors. Dr. Schmidt has served on advisory committees and chaired conferences for the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Association, the American Diabetes Association and other national and international scientific organizations. Since 2008, Dr. Schmidt has been the Co-Chair of the JDRF Medical Science Research Committee. In July of 2010, Dr. Schmidt became the chair of Diabetes at NYU Hospital.
Vincenzo Ruggiero is a Director of the Company. Mr. Ruggiero is a 25-year publishing industry professional with considerable knowledge, and success, in his field. He achieved notable respect and acclaim for his involvement with the not-for-profit organization “Books for a Better Life,” a branch of the MS Society. He holds the position of Corporate Vice President of Penguin Group in NYC; and has been under their employ for 21 years. Mr. Ruggiero was the guiding force behind the organization’s apparel and merchandising initiative, Penguin Gear. Prior to joining the Penguin Group, he worked with Double Day books at the early stages of his career.
Matthew Palumbo spent the past two decades specializing in start up, and growing, businesses. Marquis Publishing has listed his biography in Who’s Who in the World for ten consecutive years, 2000-2010. From 1990 to 1993, he was Copy Director and Marketing Director at Flaghouse, Inc.; and created 125% annual growth in his product lines. In 1993, Mr. Palumbo moved to Global Computer Supplies; where he managed the product marketing, as well as catalog design &production of a new acquisition (MISCO USA); became catalog manager; coordinated international strategies; and finished as group product manager for computer hardware. He created 300%+ annual sales growth in his product lines; and helped integrate another aquisition, Tiger Direct, into the corporate structure. During his tenure, Global made an IPO as Global DirectMail Corp (GML); which later became Systemax (SYX). In 1997, Mr. Palumbo became Director of Product Marketing for computer hardware, at Cyberian Outpost (aka Outpost.com), in Kent, CT. During his time there: his product lines experienced 796% growth; PC Magazine ranked Outpost.com as the best place on the internet to buy computer hardware; and Cyberian Outpost launched an IPO on NASDAQ (COOL). Cyberian Outpost was later acquired by Fry’s Electronics. Mr. Palumbo left Cyberian Outpost in 2000; and has worked as an international marketing and management consultant. His education includes: Bachelor of Science, Cornell University, New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, with a New York State Regents Scholarship; MBA, St. John’s University, Tobin Graduate School of Business, with Beta Gamma Sigma Honors; Direct Marketing Club of NY, Anette Brodsky scholarship, New York University Center for Direct Marketing.
